Strong Demand for U.S. Beef in Egypt, Despite Political Turmoil

Strong Demand for US Beef in Egypt, Despite Political Turmoil

I’m KayDee Gilkey with today’s Open Range.

John Brook, U.S Meat Export Federation, regional director for Europe, Russia and The Middle East participated in the the U.S. MEF’s Strategic Planning conference last week in Indianapolis.

He says there has been strong growth for U.S. beef exports to the Middle East, especially in Egypt.

Brook: “So despite the political changeover, and a certain amount of political uncertainty, we’ve seen tremendous performance in muscle cuts exports to Egypt, which have grown now two years in a row by more than 25 percent. I think that it is very interesting to see today that in a country like Egypt where beef consumption is running 3 to 4 kilos a head per year -- so one-eighth of the consumption of the United States and one-fifth of the consumption in Europe. And if you go into supermarket in Egypt today, which that by itself is remarkable because of its tremendous development of retail chains in this country which until only very recently was a very basic market or wet market sales system.”

Brook shares what you find in the meat section of an Egyptian super market.

Brook: “The price of beef of muscle cuts in those supermarkets today is higher than in than it is in the United States or an European supermarket. We are seeing this phenonom of about while people eat much less, when they have a bit of money they want to consume more beef. And these people are outbidding people in the United States and Europe today.”